State Rep. Kelly Alexander Jr., a Democrat who represented Charlotte in the state legislature for most of the last two decades, died on Friday, according to his family.
A former president of the North Carolina NAACP, Alexander was a longtime civil rights activist before beginning his political career in 2008. His activism followed in the steps of his father Kelly Alexander Sr., another Charlotte leader who rose up to become the chairman of the national NAACP in the 1980s.
Other WRAL Top Stories
Alexander was 75. The cause of his death wasn't immediately made public.
"Kelly’s unwavering commitment to his city, district, state, and this nation has been both profound and heartfelt throughout the years," his family wrote in a statement Friday. "This loss has come as a shock to us, and we kindly ask the public for privacy as we process this and plan to celebrate his life in the coming days."
Chatham County Rep. Robert Reives, the top Democratic leader in the state House, said he valued Alexander's counsel.
"Kelly was an incredible mentor for me personally from the day I walked into the General Assembly," Reives wrote in a statement on Alexander's passing. "He taught me a lot about life and politics during many late nights spent in Raleigh at the Legislative Building. He always spoke about the future and how we could continue to improve North Carolina."
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles wrote that Alexander's "legacy of service, compassion and fighting for justice will forever inspire our city."
And although they disagreed on most political issues, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore also praised Alexander in a statement on Friday as "a dedicated public servant who worked tirelessly" for his constituents in Charlotte.
A funeral home director in his professional life, Alexander was known inside the state legislature as a proponent of anti-poverty and criminal justice reforms, particularly marijuana legalization. He spent years in a lonely fight for the issue; few other lawmakers had been willing to publicly join in until recently, when pro-legalization views have gained broader political acceptance.
Alexander had already announced he wouldn't seek reelection in 2024, but he remained active at the legislature through the end of this year's session that wound down in June.
Last year he sponsored a bill seeking to rein in soaring rent prices by limiting people and corporations to only being allowed to rent out 100 homes per county; Republicans swiftly shot it down with harsh criticism.
He had more success with a different bill that would've put a proposed new constitutional amendment on the ballot this year, to repeal the racist literacy test provision still in the state constitution.
Earlier this summer it passed the state House unanimously, gaining support from GOP leadership in that chamber. But state Senate leaders refused to allow it up for a vote, so the amendment proposal didn't make it to the ballot.